Summer is here!

I had my final exam today, I feel it went reasonably well, so thats good, I also got my research project back and got a 1st so i'm seriously over the moon about that! Also the sun has finally graced Britian with its presence so that's nice, although I had to make a quick dash to Boots to pick up some factor 50, my skin and sun do not mix well at all!

Anyway i'm excited to be heading home next week to get back to this:

I do like Bristol but when the sun comes out I find myself longing for the beach and open countryside!

Anyway now that i'm done for the summer you can expect more posts from me, starting with a 'what's in my bag' now i've cleared out all the revision cards! Exciting news; I will doing a giveaway soon (which will be international), details in the next few days :). Oh and finally the blog hop on BlogLoveTherapy is still running so definitely go and check it out if your looking for some new blogs to read! Hope everyone has had a great day.

x

Revision, Exams and Stress - My Tips

Okay so this is just a random post about exams, revision and coping with the stress that comes with it. I know a lot of people have exams or essays due in at the moment so I thought I give my tips and let people know how I revise as it might help someone or give someone ideas on how to deal with the stressful time that is the assessment period!



So that's my revision for the day, currently sat next to me waiting to be started. I'm in my second year at university and have one exam, two viva's and a dissertation proposal to complete in this assessment period. I've already done one viva and my proposal so that's two out of the way already thankfully! I'm not a fan of exams, I don't think they are an accurate indication of what you know and I think they cause more stress than they are worth but as with most things they are a means to an end and at some point most people will have to sit one, whether at school, college, uni or for work. So here are my top tips for keeping your head above water when studying for exams:

1. Plan! Look at how much time you have and work out a feasible revision plan, factor in breaks and downtime, do not try to work all day everyday, you won't take the information in and you will run yourself down.

2. Breakdown information into main themes/topics. I like to put the main themes down on a page and then make broad notes for each theme. Once i've done that I then reduce the notes onto small notecards like in the photo to give myself bitesize information to read over.

3. References/Sources. If like me you have to remember who said what or dates then do separate notecards with the person's name or date and then a small heading of what they said for example one of my psychology notes is - Holmes, Holmes and Tewkesbury - Fractured Identity Syndrome. Nothing  more than that,basically flashcards, something to jog your memory. I also do lists and test myself by writing them out again.

4. Use coloured pens and highlighters! First off its more interesting to look at meaning you will take more in if your brain is associating colours with names and topics. Secondly its just fun and swapping pens makes writing things down slightly less tedious!

5. Take regular breaks! Do not sit all day staring at your notes, the mind doesn't work like that, concentration starts to drop after about 20 minutes, I tend to work for 45 minutes and then stop for fifteen, i'll get a cup of tea or just stand up and walk around. Have a look at Facebook or read some blogs. It refreshes the mind and eases tension.

6.  Eat and drink. Make you drink plenty, I always have a glass of water or squash while i'm revising. Also have regular meals and try to keep it relatively healthy, fruits, veggies, protein all good to keep you active.

7. Be good to yourself! Try not to berate yourself by saying 'i've not done enough i'm going to fail', you create a self-fulfilling prophecy. You wouldn't say to a friend 'oh you've not done enough you'll fail' would you? So don't say it to yourself. Remember you are only human, you won't remember everything but that's okay, the examiners do not expect you to, it would be physically impossible. Say to yourself 'I do know this, I have looked at it, if I forget a couple of things its not the end of the world'.

Those are my main tips for revision, things that I try to stick to whilst studying. Now i've always found exams stressful and a few years ago started having panic attacks, the first one bought on by an exam I felt I couldn't do. I'd got it into my head that I couldn't do it at all and it went all downhill from there. If like me you are a very anxious person and if you suffer from panic attacks here are some tips (now this is just my personal experience, it might not work for everyone just bear that in mind).

1. Get enough sleep. If i'm tired my anxiety hits the roof, because I feel I can't concentrate and start to get worried that i'm taking in information.

2. Take deep breaths. If I feel any sort of anxiety or panic building and try and sit back and just close my eyes and take some deep breaths, it gets the oxygen flowing and makes you stop thinking a mile a minute.

3. Steer clear of caffine! A big one for me, coffee, energy drinks and pro-plus all set me off, I don't drink any coffee or energy drinks in the days before my exams. It enhances the feelings of anxiety so I try to avoid it like the plague come exam period!

4. Take a walk. Fresh air is the key, i'm a huge believer in getting fresh air everyday...now I live in a big city so the word 'fresh' is relative haha, but it clears your mind, takes you out of your room with all your work in and lets you focus on something else for a little while.

5. Treat yourself. You don't have to wait until after your exams. Have a cupcake, go for a meal, buy something you've seen, take a relaxing bath, see a friend. If you've spent the day revising, take the evening off and watch TV or go and see a film. Honestly its the best thing you can do to refresh yourself for the next day. I tend to do around 5 to 6 hours of revision a day, broken up mind you and in the evenings I try not to do any.

6. Kalms. In the weeks leading up to the exams I arm myself with these bad boys

For me they do what say on the tin, I find that the anxiety becomes more managable, its natural to be worried about exams but these help to keep the worry at a normal level so it doesn't become overwhelming. They are natural and you don't need a perscription to buy these. I buy mine from Boots and they are £6.85, but so worth it. I don't take them everyday only if I feel particularly stressed or nervous, but they have definitely helped me!

So there you go, my tips for less stress around exam time. If anyone else has any good tips they want to add that would be great :). I hope everyone is having a good day and good luck to all doing exams and essays at the moment!

Revlon Photoready Perfecting Primer Review

So I apologise for not posting in a few days but today was my first exam so I needed to revise and just focus on that. It went okay I think it was a viva which is basically a mini interview with your lecturer so I was quite nervous but I'm pretty happy with how it went so thats good. Anyway the main reason for this post is to do a review on the Revlon Photoready Perfecting Primer. I got this shortly after doing my wishlist post because I'd seen good reviews and wanted to give it a try.



I got mine from Boots and it was on offer for £7.99 (Usually £11.99) which I think is a bargain, I was using a Clinque pore refiner but they cheekily upped the price of it before Christmas and I haven't repurchased it because I thought it was a bit of a rip off to be honest. Anyway first impressions of this product were good, I love the packaging, feels nice and heavy, and it has a pump! The pump makes it easy to dispense the right amount so there isn't any waste. You get loads for your money because a little of this goes a long way and its a 27ml jar.

The product itself goes on smoothly and is clear, also no shimmery bits for us that don't want to look like we've dipped our face in glitter. One thing I would say is that you really do not need a lot of this because you can start to see it if you overdo it, I did notice a slight white section where I hadn't fully blended near my nose. Also if you have dry skin, moisturise before using this! It will pick up any dry patches. Apart from that there are no other bad points, it makes my skin feel extremely soft and has definitely helped where I have redness and reduced any pores I could see. It's very easy to apply and worked well with my foundation, however if I was having a reasonable skin day I would wear just the primer because it really does leave a nice feel and look to the skin.

All in all a great product for the price, i'm very impressed. Oh one thing I would say is check the 'ingredients' of your foundation, if you use liquid. Water is the main component to the primer so always go like for like, if you have an oil based foundation this probably won't work as well because water and oil don't mix, but if like me your foundation is water based you should be fine! If not then a powder would work really well with this primer.

Anyway I hope everyone is having a great day, i'm off to revise for my next exam...can it just be summer already!? :)

x 

Heading back to uni....

So today was my last day at my parents house before heading back to uni tomorrow. I should probably be packing (that can wait a bit). I'm going back for the exam period, I don't have any more lectures this year which is a bit scary but heyho bring on 3rd year! Anyway I haven't really put together any fashion/beauty posts for today but here's a few photos from my time at home over the Easter break. Because who doesn't love a good picture :).

Couple of pics of the beautiful flowers my boyfriend bought me as a good luck gift for my exams :) <3

Work for my dissertation proposal eeek!

Just a few of the random bits and bobs around the house, including my mum's hearts, my dad's Buddah and my sister's cactus, who is inexplicably named Norbert :).

So not the most exciting post but today has been a bit manic with sorting out things I need to take back with me. I have planned however a 'What's in my bag' post which will be quite fun. I also picked up the Maybelline Eyestudio Lasting Drama Gel Eyeliner today so i'll do a review on that in the next couple of days. I got it on offer in Tesco for £5.99, and i'm looking forward to trying it. Anyway hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. I've had a great time at home for the past two weeks, but i'm looking forward to heading back to Bristol, despite the building anxiety about exams :s, anyone else got any coming up? If so I hope revision is going well and good luck!